Musical bell.



PATEETED APR, 24, 1906.

J. 0. DEAGAN. MUSICAL BELL. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 19, 1904.

John C Deg 0022 QZTm/ Invenfor,

Zm'fnesses;

. UNITED sures PATENT OFFICE JOHN (J. DEAGA N, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MUSICAL BELL.

No. 818,874. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

Application and October 19,1904. Serial No. 229,145.

To a, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JoHX C. DEAGAN. a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useftl' Improvement in Musical Bells, of winch thefollowing is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawin s, forming a part of this specification.

)Iy invention relates to musical instruments, and partlcularly to that class of musical nstru'ments wherein tubes are employed as bells.

The invention has for one of its objects the provision of an improved construction of the l tube forming the bell whereby the tones prod ce d upon striking the tube will be unaccompanied by overtones and will be restrict- In practicing this feature of my invention the tubes are cdto tonesv an octave apart.

preferably formed cylindrical and of such a length astoafiord theproperair-column withpractice this taper may end about half-way of the length of the tube, the unmodified portion of the tube being that part which is desirably reserved for the impingement of the hammer. This latter portion of the tube is preferably longitudinally slotted to complete the tube into a substantial perfect instrumentality for producingtrueand pure tones, for it has been found that a tube having its metal gradually tapered from one end to themiddle portion thereof and having the balanceslotted produces musical tones that are very true, pure, and resonant.

My invention has for another of its objects a the provision of an improved construction of tubular bells that are formed with longitudinal slots, whereby the sounds emanating fi om the slots do not intermingle with each other to such an extent as to blur the same.

'--'Iubul:1r bells having longitudinal slots in forming a musical instrument containing a plurality of the same have to be placed with the slots side by side, for the metal between the slots of each tube is the portion of the tube that is to be struck by a hammer. In order that the tones may not sufliciently intermingle between adjacent tubular bells, I

I provide an exit for sound-waves located on the front of each tube. which exit is desirably in the form of a circular hole located in proximity to theplancs of the bases of the slots, so that the sound-Waves may issue in sufficient-volume from the fronts of the bells to prevent the tones from being blurred.

Another feature of my invention resides in providing a'double suspension for each tubul'ar bell, which while tending to hold the bell in a given plane will permit a sufficient oscillation or movement thereof to enable the bell to respond properly to the stroke of the hammer without having, its tones dampened. Hitherto in providing; a single suspension f or each tubular bell the motion thereof had to be restricted by some suitable agency, as a pad of felt, which dampened the tones. By providing the double suspension or anchorage a tendency to maintain the bell in a given plane is secured, which tendency, however, is not sufficiently strong" to prevent a slight movement of the tube in response to a stroke of the hammer. The mounting is preferably supplemented by a felt block or cushion, so

that an undue movement of the tube in response to a hammer blow will be prevented, the suspension of the tube being preferably such as to cause an immediate departure of the tube from any extreme posit-ion. These mountings preferably include spring-cushions which tend to maintain the tube in a glven plane.

These spring cushions have been provided a bout the shanks of four screws that pass through four ears provided upon 5 each tube, there being two ears upon each 3 side of each tube.

I have also passed two screws longitudinally dis laced with res ect I k, e

i to each other, through the front of the tube into a support at the rear of the tube and have interposed coil-springs between the support and the tube and between the heads of the screws-and the tube, whereby similar results have been secured.

It will be seen that I have provided a marked improvement in the construction of tubular bells whereby the length of the tubes need not materially be increased to eliminate overtones and whereby the tubular length may be'sg) iieg i'lated 21$,t0xs801l16 the required t "is to hem sympathy with the tone.

- reference to the gstr ictu re shown in Fig. 1. penal v ew on l ne 313 of Fig. '1. Fig. lis an Another feature ormvi iniventi on relates to adain ener for the bell:

I wi l explain my invention more fullyby Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating one bell of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the Fig. 3 is .a secand viewer'theZStruct ire, one of the mountings shown in section to illustrate its surrounding eushioin Fig. 5, i a secti n illustrating one-of two devices that may e nployed for mounting the bell. Fig. 6 15 sectional view of a modification of my dey axis of the tube.

fe s; Figff? a planview er a portion of a tubular-bellmount ng as indicated in 5.

liigL S isa side view 0 the dampener. Like. parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the-differentfigi I I i I In the structures illustrated in Figs. .1 to 4,

inclns'ive,;a tubular bell a is provided with tounearsjb bc cpthe ears I) I) being desirably n the same diametrical plane parallel with the siipportd .ofthe. bell, while the ears 0 c are. also in a similar horizontal plane, these ears thus being'in a plane, coincident withthe Screws or uides are passed, throughthese ears, whic screws are preferably surrounded by tubes of suitable da'mp'ening material, as rubber. The ears crest uporlcoitsprings 7i, felt washers or washers of other suitable sound-dampenu-ingniaterial "L being interposed between the upper ends of the. springs and the ears, the screws f passing through these washers.

I 'ordrthata very effective mounting may be secured, the screws If are'also surrounded by sprin 'sJc; between the. lower ends of which similar washers m beingalso disposed between thejheads of the screws'and the upper ends'oflthe springs k, the said screw-heads being supplemented, if desired, by washers n, of more rigid material than the felt washers. Thescrews pass through all of the washers. It will be seen that inthis way a --"'r nounting for the tubular bell is provided i which normally maintains the said tubular "flbellin agiven plane, which restores the tubu lz'irbell to its normal plane atter it has been struck by a hammer and" which attordssuch sii'pp'ort for the hell that ithe vibrations arenot dampened and are not come i by the mountings to. the bell-super pair shears li serv es'in a is a sort of a pivotal mounting 'at thelow'erend of the bell, the hammer. in case accompanying drawings, in.

' as the construction shown in Fig. 6 may he anditlle ears b bc' cfelt, washers Z aredisposed,

r bell, its greatest move.

sienna this portion of the tube 'should move too far from its normal position I provide a felt block or other cush on 0, that acts to limit .the motion of the tube without impairing its vibration, the coil-springs speedily restoring the tube to its normal place. In practicing another feature of my invention each tubular bell is provided with an opening 1). at its front surface, so that the waves of sound are not restricted to passage through the slots q,

which is an advantage, as the sounds otherwise might issue through the said slots in such large volume as to blur when several'tubes side by side are sounded. desirably circular and is preferably located near the bases of the slots q. By placing the opening as indicated the vibration of the split part of the bell and the air-column are The opening p is column may properly be suited to the length of the tube to correspond .to the tone to be producedthereby, while at the same time the overtones are eliminatechwhich result is secured without materially, if at all, modifying the length of the tube] This taper, while preferably being gradual from the central portion of the tube toward its upper end, is

also circumferentially uniform, so that no improper vibrations are anywhere provided in the structure of the tube that bring forth overtones. VV'hile I prefer this gradualmodifieation of the cross-section of the tube longitu tl inally,-I do not wish to be limited thereto,

em oloyed where the cap 1" serves as a continuation of the tubular bell, and projecting from the balance of the bell a portion of they bell. whose cross-section is sufiiciently re duced to eliminate overtones, while at the same time contributing to the proper tonal production. It will be seen that the portion of the bell the thickness of whose metal is tapered is substantially a complete tubular wall, thisportion of theinstrument beingunslotted. I a A In Fig. 3 aplug s is nse'rted within the bell for the purpose of determining its tonal capacity, though I do not wish to be limited to a bell in which the plug either present or absent.

In Figs. 5 and 7 I have illustrated amountingcomprising two screws jl'passing into the support d of the bell in a plane perpenchcular to said support and coincident with the axis of the tube. These screws by tubes of rubber or other suitable'sounddampening material g. There is disposed f are surrounded interposed, respectively, between the washers u and 'v and w and .21. By means of thee-onstruction illustrated 1n l11gs. 5 and 7 the tubular bells may be more closely assembled in the formation ot a musical instrument.

\Vhere it is desired to play the bell with a bow instead of a hammer, thesl'otted end of the said'bell is scalloped, as indicated at q (1", there being preferably one scallop concavity in each limb. of the bell. The depressed portion of each concavity is preferably midway between the margins of the slots'g, so that a I well-defined patli of travel for the bow in a plane perpendicular'to the plane occupied by said slots is 'provided, whereby sound is evenly distributed in slots. 1

it will be observed. that the slotted part ,of the bell 'isnot circumferentially continuous by'reason of the slots and-that the balance of the bell is circumferentially continuous.

its passage through the Referring to that part of my invention that has to do with the dampening of tones so that their duration may be determined, I.

have employed a wedge element 1, which may bemounted on a reciprocating'bar2. This bar may be pivoted to suit the action. The wedge. is normally removed from the bell andis brought in contact with one of the slots by the action of the lever 3. I do not wish to be limited to the use of a wedge to dampen the sound, as other agenci s may be employed for the same purpose. To secure the best ett'ect. a felt dampener is mounted one block 4, that in turn is mounted upon a strip metal spring The wedge-shaped dampener is brought to a sharp point, so that it may enter between the margins of a slot- .(which are vibrating) to stop their vibration. It is obvious thatchanges may readily be made in the precise embodiment of my invention shownin the drawings without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the precise construction herein illustrated but,

Having thus described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A musical bell of tubular formation, the wall of which is taperedin thickness unltormly from one end of the tube toward the other, substantially as described.

'2. 'A musical bell of tubular formation which is longitudinally slotted and which is provided with an opening p transverse to the plane of slotting to permit a portion of' the sound to pass therethrough, substantially as described.

3. A musical bell of tubular tormation which is longitudinally slotted andnhich is provided with an'opening p whrr-o said slotting terminates,substantially as described.

4. A musical bell of tubular formation which is provided with two longitudinal slots and whichis provided with an opening p ope posito the plane in which the said slots lie,

--substantially as described.

5. A musical bell of tubular formationv which is provided with two longitudinal slots and which is provided with an opening 1 opposite the plane in whichthe said slots lie, the said opening being at that portion of the tube where the slotstcrminate, substantially as described.

6. A tubular bell having longitudinallydisplaced anchorages, an anchorage including a screw or guide) and a spring-cushion w th whichtheguide is provided, and provided for yieldingly maintaining the tubular bell in a given plane, substantially as described.

T A slotted tubular bcll providedwith a sound-dampcucr adapted to enter a slot, substantially as described.

'8. A slotted tubular bell provided with a sound-dampener adapted to engage opposed longitudinal slot. margins, substantially as described.

' 9.. A musical bell of tubular forn'iation hav ing a circim'it'crentially continuous tubular wall portion, the thickness of which is tapered uniformly from one end toward the other. substantially as described.

10. A musical bell of tubular 'tiormatitm having a circunit'c-rentially-continuous tubular wall portion, the thichnws ol' whichis tapered from one end toward the other, the said bell being longitudinallyslotted below the complete. tubularwall portion. substantially as described.

11. A musical bell of tubular formation having a circumtercntially-continnous tubular wall portion, the thickness of which is ta pered uniformly from one end toward the other, the said bell being longitudinally slotted below the complete tubular wall portion. substantially as described.

12. A musical bell of tubular formation having a circumtcrcntially-continuous tubular wall portion, the thickness of which is tapered from one end toward the other, they said bell being longitudinally slotted below the complete tubular wall portion, the said taper terminating substantially where the slotting of the bell terminates, substantially as described.

13. A musical bell of tubular formation having a circumferentially-continuous tubular Wall portion, the thickness of which is tapered uniformly from one end toward the other, the said bell being longitudinally slotted below the complete tubular wall por- 1'0 part of the tube,.said springs. being provided tion, the seidtaper terminating substantial y I 15. A musical bell of tubule where the slotting of the bell terminates, subhaving a ciroumferen'tiall -eon 1 stantially'as described. e lar-Wall portien, the-thickness 0i Whie 14:.v A tubular bell having longitudinallylongitudinally, the said bell being l0 5- displaced. anchorages, each anchorage includnally slotted below the complete tube ing a screw or guidef passing through the bell portion, substantiellyes described. and'surrouncled by a rubber tube, a coil- In Witness whereof I hereunte as spring surrounding the upper part of the my name this 14th day of @et'ob' sorew,and a coil-spring surrounding the lower 1904.

for yieldingly maintaining the tubular bell in Witnesses: a glven plane, send bell belng interposed be-' G. L. CRAGG, tween send snrlngssubstantlally as dSSCIIbBd. LEQN S'rson, 

